Black water vomiting in patients with indwelling gastrostomy tubes may be due to medications or upper gastrointestinal bleeding.
If the patient is undergoing chemotherapy, it may be due to side effects of chemotherapy drugs such as cisplatin and dacarbazine. The vomit may be mistaken for black because some bile may have been vomited, giving the vomit a dark green color.
If the patient has gastric ulcer or gastric cancer, it may cause the patient to have upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Upper gastrointestinal bleeding may be manifested as black stools, or as vomiting black water due to a series of chemical reactions that occur when blood is retained in the digestive tract for a longer period of time and turns black.
If a patient with an indwelling gastrostomy tube vomits black water, he or she should communicate with the attending physician about his or her condition in a timely manner and under the physician’s guidance.